Trick or treat <3 (From one graveyard witch to another, happy halloween!)
Happy Halloween!!
From one graveyard witch to another- here’s a targeted treat! 💀👻☠️
Clean up trash and debris
Bring offerings of water, flowers, strands of hair
Bring home leaves, sticks, small pebbles/rocks, a bit of dirt (NOT that are atop graves) to tie the graveyard to your personal altar and home spirit work
Take pictures of the graveyard
Look up history of it- when it was established, the main families it houses, any notable figures
If it’s an older one- take extra moments with the Forgotten Dead (headstones that are illegible). See if there’s a cemetery database to find out who they were. Don’t fret if there isn’t, just spending time with them is good too.
Read storybooks to any children buried there
Play music, sing if you’re comfortable
Use the natural items collected mentioned earlier to make a graveyard diorama with headstones at home to leave offerings for when you aren’t able to visit (it’s okay to supplement with soil from your home- it’s the thought that counts). These offerings can be stuff you aren’t able to leave at the graveyard itself- food, toys, books, etc
Sketch the graveyard and specific headstones
Headstone rubbings
Collecting snow water during winter months
Clearing leaves and twigs from atop headstones
Starting a memento mori journal specifically for that graveyard
Inquiring about how to be certified to wash/clean headstones at that graveyard (please don’t do this without permission)
Meditating in the graveyard
I keep veggie peelings, cuttings, herb clippings and all other veggie compost in a freezer bag in your freezer for up to a month. At the end of every month I dump this bag into my crockpot, add 6-8 cups of water and cook on low for 6 hours. I drain out the veggies and herbs, and viola! You have like 8 cups of veggie broth.
I save things from veggies like: celery, garlic, onion, carrots, kale, squash, parsnips, peppers, etc. Basically any vegetable that would go into a soup, I save.
I also save bits of herbs that don’t make it into other recipes, or veggies about to go bad I have no other intention for. It’s an amazing way to cut back on costs and food waste. This stock can make enough soup to feed a whole family, or you can freeze it if you are only feeding yourself and thaw as needed.
You can customize with herbs and spices now, or when you go to make your soups. I like to at least toss in garlic, onions, a bay leaf, pepper and rosemary to the broth itself.
I havent bought soup broth in years, and I can make sure my broth is salt free or at least low salt!
It’s such a simple thing to do, and its noticable in your food budget.
wheel of the year/ sabbats (yule) (imbolc) (ostara) (beltane) (litha) (lammas) (mabon) (samhain) *
basics of sigil making (x) (x) (x)
intent/intention and why it’s so important
candles + color magick
beginner herbs and their correspondences
book of shadows vs grimoire (how to begin)
grounding
beginner crystals and their correspondences
c l e a n s i n g (room) (crystals)
random books i found (e-books) (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)
*i corrected the links
You guys all know these dresses right? Both of these are made from thrifted linen skirts, so you can make one! Make sure the skirt can fit your chest, and you're ready to go!
Materials + tools : thrifted flared skirt, misc fabric scraps or lining fabric, embroidery threads or lace, scissors, scalpel/seam ripper, sewing machine, chalk, iron.
Step 1 - Lay out your chosen flared skirt. Material is important, go for something sturdy eg linen or needle cord. Find a scalpel/boxcutter/ seam ripper.
Step 2 - Remove waistband lining, waistband, and zip to use later. Use your seam ripper or scalpel etc to cut the stitches so we dont waste any material.
Step 3 - Lay skirt with zip gap at the back. Chalk/ mark round a sewing pattern or your favourite sundress to map out the neckline and arm holes should be.
Step 4 - Cut arm holes. Take waistband and cut in half for shoulder straps. Get your fabric lining/scraps ready. Mark round the straps and the top of the skirt onto your lining fabric and cut out. These pieces will help make your dress neat and strong! Make sure theres a space for the zip.
Step 5 - Sew your straps ; place fabric and lining right sides together and seam the long edges to make a tube with a gap at each end. Turn the tube inside out et voila. Iron both straps flat.
Step 6 - Sew your neckline ; sew sides of lining together. Place lining right side down on outside of skirt. Take your straps and tuck in between lining and skirt. Sew all around the top edge, including the straps. Flip the lining round to the inside and iron.
Step 7 - Add the zip, by any means necessary. It's hard, please do your best/ check out your preferred YouTube zip sewing tutorials.
Step 8 - try it on! This will help you figure out where to attach your straps to the back of your dress. Getting a friend to help is a good idea. When you have them where you like them, pin and sew your straps. You can also make your dress more fitted by taking in the sides or adding a waist tie.
Step 9 - Decorate! Lace? Embroidery? Collar? Doilies? Pockets??? Go wild!!!
Optional step 10 please show me if you make one 💕🌱💕
For when you’ve moved into a new living situation or are ready for a new start <3
Finding your home/moving:
Spell for your dream house
The witch’s moving checklist
Cleansing:
Room cleansing
To absorb negative energy from a room
Summer house cleansing
Herbal wall/floor wash + witchy cleaners
Home cleansing tips
Home cleansing brew
Thoroughly clearing spaces
Crystals to cleanse the home
Cleansing your space without smoke
Cleansing your space: a how-to guide
Energy cleansing
Low energy cleaning + cleansing
Warding + Protection:
A crash course on warding
To ward the home
Threshold magic 101
Protect my home spell
Home protection steam spell
Simple home protection jar spell
“Little lurkers” home protection spell
Room/home protection
Wall of fire property & house protection spell
Protection (wind) chimes
The Rowan cross
Check out the sigils below!
Sigils:
“For a magical and happy home”
“Sospidonum”
“This space is full of life, light, and bright energy”
“No fighting in this home”
“My home is safe”
“This home is safe for all”
“This home is a safe and healthy environment”
“My house is protected from unwanted influences”
“My home is protected”
Witchin’ it up:
Happy home spell jar
Home sweet home spell jar
House to home spell
Doing the dishes the witchy way
Homemade laundry detergent recipe
Laundry magic
Pleasing household spirits
When a bad guest leaves
Building a magical home
Odds and ends:
Magic, and power, in homemaking
The history and creation of witch bottles
Cottage witch tips
Hearth witch tips
The basics of kitchen and cottage witchcraft
You may also like:
Bedridden witch: garden / stale energy / kitchen edition
Spells for job seekers
Travel witchery
Links updated October, 2020 (please inform me of broken links via askbox)
I have always loved thrift stores. When my family was poor-ish back in the day, I would often get one shopping trip a year for clothes at the thrift store and I would get all my halloween costume pieces there. Maybe it’s the nostalgia, maybe it’s that I myself am now poor-ish but either way I think we can all appreciate a good deal regardless. Especially on staple pieces that can be used for your practice. Now ON TO THE FINDS!
Books
Sometimes it takes a little luck but I’ve found a couple great useful books for 3$ or less each along the shelves of books in my local Value Village. The crystal healing ones I found were a huge deal to me back in the day when I was but a baby witch and they were dirt cheap.
Candle supplies
Every witch needs something to burn candles on/in. Now I’m not saying it needs to be fancy, for a long time I used a dollar store plate (psa, do not burn candles on surfaces you care about because scraping wax off things is not a delicate process) but picking up some candle holders for less than 2$ is going to help keep candles from falling over and lighting your house on fire. You can also find some wicked pretty ones.
Curtains/Tablecloths/Pillowcases
Yes, I buy thrift store curtains. As I mentioned in my previous post in this series, many things may require scrap fabric and although you can get the dollar store scarves I prefer using old curtains or tablecloths from the thrift store. Not only will you be getting WAY more fabric but it doesn’t cost too much more than the dollar store.
String and/or Ribbon
Some of my spells and my favorite hex require some kind of yarn/string/thread. If your local thrift establishment of choice has any kind of craft section, no matter how big, you are in business. Bags of embroidery thread, spools of twine or other string and skeins of yarn are all SUPER cheap and often great quality. (Note: I mean the yarn, the other two options are pretty standard) Sometimes I can even find ribbon spools but those are interchangeable with plain old coloured string.
Picture Frames
Are you setting up your altar? Do you wish you had something nice to put the picture of your deity(ies) in? Look no further than the thrift store for GORGEOUS frames of literally every size imaginable.
Vases
You actually can not find nicer vases for cheaper than a thrift store. I don’t know what else you’d use them for, crystals maybe? Dried flowers waiting to be used? Candles? Either way, if you need one, there are virtually none cheaper or easier to find. Same goes for crystal or glass bowls. Besides, if you kill plants like yours truly, having flowers that are guaranteed to die is a nice way to enjoy plants without having to remember to water them.
JARS
That alone should be enough but I do want to chuck in one piece of advice. Do not forget about the cup aisle! I got a sweet glass skull that screws closed with your standard mason jar lid because it was donated with one of those lids with a hole and a straw. Hence it was a “cup” but NOT ANYMORE! It holds my dead flowers. I named him Herman.
As always, feel free to send me a message if you’d like/have more questions. Hopefully soon I’ll make a trip to IKEA for the next post in this series! If there’s something you’d like me to cover, let me know.
Much love ~ ♥
Grow herbs on your balcony or in your backyard
If you live in an apartment, find good indoor plants
You can never go wrong with more succulents
Water your plants from your water cup to bond with them
Write sigils on the pots of your plants to help them grow
Bury a coin in the forest to welcome money into your life
Carry a book around to press flowers in
Illustrate or take photos of interesting plants you see
If you cannot have real plants, get fake plants from a craft store and decorate your room
Wear clothing or accessories with plants and flowers on them
Tuck flowers into your hair
Bring leaves and flowers home as offerings for your deity
Help caterpillars cross the sidewalk
she/hereclectic witchcrafttaurus sun / aquarius moon / aquarius risingmother of two
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